Twisted Metal, Shattered Dreams
by Snow Phoenix
Summary: (StEx) The story of how Discord the Saloon Car came to be at AV, and the dark secret she hides from all who know her.


Faster, faster, gathering speed, the wind whistling past, shapes in the distance a mere blur. Wheels spinning faster, holding on tighter, the finish line drawing nearer all the time…

Discord the Saloon Car raised one hand up to her head, pulling out the tie that was restricting her long brown hair. She cast the tie aside, and her hair flew out behind her in a shiny, mahogany coloured wave. Beneath her, she could feel her wheels moving faster than they ever had before. She raised her hand up in the air and let out a whoop of joy, punching the air.

In front of her, Adonis the Diesel put on an extra burst of speed as they headed towards the finish line. "The winner of the Texan Championship is…." he yelled out as they drew ever nearer, "Adonis the Diesel with Discord the Saloon Car!"

The pair shot across the finishing line. Adonis slowed down, uncoupled Discord and pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her deeply. As they broke apart, Adonis' face split into a wide smile. "The championship's ours Discord," he muttered in her ear. "Nothing can stop us tomorrow – I've been watching the other engines practicing and they don't stand a chance against us. This is the way it was meant to be Discord, just you and me, together against the world."

They kissed again, then Discord pulled away. "C'mon honey, I can't fight the world with you if I don't look good, can I? I've got to get to that beauty appointment." Adonis looked disappointed. "Ok, come on then," he said resignedly. Discord hitched herself to him again and they set off.

Later that afternoon, Discord was sparkling. She had been resprayed, polished until she shone, and had been told at least 3 times that she looked drop dead gorgeous. Heads turned everywhere she went, and with every wolf-whistle, Discord's smile widened. She looked fantastic and she knew it.

A voice behind her shouted, "Hey baby, fancy spending the night in my sidings?" She was about to throw another flirtatious smile in the direction of the voice, when she recognised it. She spun around, a come-hither stare in her eyes.

The voice belonged to a violently blue electric engine. His hair stuck out in pointy black spikes on his head and the air around him was… charged – there was no other word for it.

"Hey Lightning," she called over, seductively. She stood, waiting for him to skate over to her, knowing that he would. He approached her slowly, pulling her close to him, and all memory of that morning disappeared, just as all memories of Adonis did when she was with Lightning. Sure, Adonis made her feel safe and secure; things just felt natural when he was around. But Lightning brought a sense of adventure into her life. An element of danger. The thrill of the possibility of getting caught.

"Ready to practice?" he asked.

"You bet," Discord replied, a wicked glint in her eye.

They flew round the track, if possible, even faster than she and Adonis had done that morning, their wheels barely touching the rails. Discord lost all sense of herself – she and Lightning were one entity, one force, unbeatable. Nothing could stop them, nothing…"

"DISCORD!"

A screech of brakes met Discord's ears, blocking out the shouts of the one voice she had dreaded hearing. She skidded forward, hitting Lightning's back and scratching her paintwork.

"Discord, what's going on?"

The pain filling Adonis' voice was audible even from there. He wasn't meant to find out, not like this. He wasn't meant to find out at all…

"What do you think you're doing, you stupid clown!" Lightning yelled at Adonis. "We could've crashed thanks to you!"

"Maybe it would have been better that way," said Adonis scathingly.

Discord's eyes widened. "No, Adonis, don't say that," she said, her eyes brimming with tears.

"You know him?" Lightning rounded on Discord now. "Well, if you're that close, you can tell him to get lost so we can practice."

"Practice for what?" asked Adonis warily.

"The Texan Championships, of course," said Lightning, with the air of explaining to a two-year-old what two and two makes. However, Adonis seemed to have done the maths for himself. His voice was slow, soft and with the air of one who has been deeply betrayed.

"How were you planning on racing with both of us, Discord?"

Getting caught didn't have such a thrill to it now. It felt terrible. Both engines were staring at her, demanding an explanation. They wanted answers she couldn't provide. The hurt was visible in Adonis' eyes, while Lightning just looked furious.

"Well, how were you planning on…"

"I don't know!" Discord screamed. "I don't know, it just, sort of, happened."

"Well, you've got a choice to make then, haven't you," said Lightning, a deadly tone in his voice now. "Who's it gonna be Discord? Who you gonna race with?"

Discord closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards. "Help me Starlight," she muttered.

"The Starlight won't help you now Discord," said Adonis, quietly. "It's your mess, you need to find a way out."

There were a few seconds of silence. "Not necessarily," muttered Lightning, his mind forming a plan. "No, no she doesn't. We can solve it."

Discord looked up though tear-filled eyes. "How?"

"A race," said Lightning, simply. "Champion's track, tomorrow morning. Winner races with Discord in the Texan final."

Discord stared over at Adonis, confusion spread across her face. Surely he couldn't agree to this, surely not…"

"You're on," said Adonis. "Tomorrow morning, winner takes all."

"And you'd better be there Discord," Lightning hissed. "Or there'll be a few more scratches on that paintwork…"

The two engines disappeared, leaving Discord alone at the edge of the track. She felt slightly in shock; an hour ago everything had been fine, and now this. They were going to race for her, on the Champion's track no less. The most difficult, most dangerous track of all. There had been wrecks on that track, horrible ones. What if…

Discord banished the though, which was instantly replaced with the image of the two engines staring at her. Adonis, hurt and pain almost pouring out of his eyes; Lightning, enraged, more terrifying than Discord had ever seen him. The bottom had fallen out of her world, the world where everything had been in its place and running like clockwork, and there was nothing she could do about it.


End file.
